That's the advice Dubbo's Molly Croft had for young women after winning the The One to Watch Award on Tuesday.

Molly is the first recipient of the new category in the NSW Women of the Year Awards. She was recognised for her volunteer and charity work.

Molly was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when she was 12-years-old. After spending 292 nights at Ronald McDonald House, she decided to pay it forward and launched a campaign to raise $46,000 - the cost of those 292 nights. However, she quickly surpassed her fundraising target and raised a total of $185,000.

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Speaking to the Daily Liberal after winning the award, Molly said she gave back because of all the people who had helped her.

"I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm not supposed to be here, I'm not supposed to be nominated for this award let alone win." the 15-year-old said.

"If I tell my story then that's somebody else who might just go home and Google 'what is sarcoma?' and maybe they might donate to a charity or try and help find a cure for the terrible disease."

Molly said she also wanted to pay it forward after all of the support she received from the Dubbo and wider community when she was sick.

When it comes to those who look up to her, the teenager has encouraged them to be positive.

"The word of advice I would give to other young women is if you can look for a reason to smile, a reason to be thankful in every day, if you can wake up in the morning and just think 'today is going to be a good day' I think you've already achieved so much in life," Molly said.

"I honestly try and do that every morning. I think some days it's a bit hard but I do try and do it every morning."

On Tuesday she had plenty to smile about.

"I was just happy to be a finalist let along be the winner. [The other finalists] were all so amazing," Molly said.

"This award isn't just for me, it's for all the women who have helped me along the way, and a few good men as well. Honestly, I'm just in total shock."

Meanwhile, Buy from the Bush founder Grace Brennan was named as the NSW Regional Woman of the Year.

The Buy from the Bush initiative started in October 2019 as a way to help drought-affected businesses. It has since resulted in a $5 million revenue uplift for those participating.

Speaking on the one year anniversary of the initiative, Ms Brennan said there had "always been a fondness and an affection for the bush from the city", but with social media it was easier to "tap into the connection".

Dubbo's Izabelle Kelly, Joh Leader, Lucy Samuels and Lucy Taylor were all finalists in the awards.

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